


Silver Haze

by Greyscales (sablescales)



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Big Ponies, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 14:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30124047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sablescales/pseuds/Greyscales
Summary: Strange creatures are appearing in Ponyville, and an equally strange pegasus has arrived to hunt them. This grabs the attention of one of the Mane 6, who happens upon the newcomer slaying a vicious beast.





	Silver Haze

Tall, white, and ethereal—a fleeting glimmer of silver in the night, hunting shadows that should never be allowed in the day. These ponies are built bigger and faster. They’re all long legs and sharp edges. Someponies have long and sharp horns, some broad and strong wings, and some with naught but highly developed muscle. Generations of Hunters live and have lived in secret across Equestria in the harshest of environments.

It has been a long while since Haze has seen another Hunter. Her small tribe has slowly been diminishing, and only three remain in Everfree forest now. With the amount of work the Everfree forest provides, there is rarely time for rest and pleasantry. The last she has seen of her kin, they teamed up to take down an elusive mass of wriggling shadow that had been making its way to Ponyville.

That was a mess. The foe had the ability to separate into multiple, smaller targets and the trio of ponies spent a lot of time combing the forest for residual pieces of the larger foe. To make it worse, the pieces would possess and corrupt other creatures living in the forest, forcing the Hunters to take extra measures to either exorcise or put the poor creatures out of their miseries. After all was done, they were too tired to do more than thank their kin for the help before retiring to their respective parts of the forest. No celebration, no fame, no payment other than the knowledge that they had protected blissfully ignorant innocents from cruel fates.

Needless to say, it is rare to find time to do anything unrelated to the Hunt. This includes chores and errands. However, this doesn’t mean that opportunities never arise. Such is the case right now. Haze needs salt, spices, cloth, and a few other small items she can’t craft or otherwise acquire. Normally she would wait for a lull in activity in the forest so that she can risk a day trip to town, but she has reason to believe that a dangerous creature has wandered into town. Traces of it has lead in the direction of town. So, while she is in town, she will search for the creature as she completes these side errands. Hopefully she can do all without notice to anyone.

Haze dons a heavy, hooded cloak made of plain grey cotton. It’s a little too long, having been made for her taller pegasus mother once upon a time, and drags on the ground at her back hooves.

If she has time, perhaps she will cut and hem it. _A thought for later_ , she thinks as she adjusts the bag draped over her back. _Oh, this is the bag that itches when I wear it against fur_ , comes another thought. The bag probably needs something to line the inside of the strap.

Mildly irritated but still excited for her day trip outside the forest, Haze departs without fanfare or a look askance at the home buried in the dark woods of Everfree Forest.

=*=

Ponyville is as bright and cheery as ever. The roads are neatly cobbled or well trodden dirt depending on where you are, and the houses are tall and warm-looking. Its inhabitants are diverse and… quite noticeably shorter than she. With the burning gazes of the curious passersby, Haze hunches to hide her face and height somewhat. Despite being of a blinding white coat and minty green mane/tail combination, the grey of her draping cloak covers most of her and appears unremarkable.

Despite being able to navigate her forest blindfolded, she finds herself lost for the first time in a long while.

 _Oh no,_ Haze thinks, _where are the shops again?_

Were they centralized or scattered throughout town? She doesn’t remember. It’s not often she gets an excuse to go to town, so every time she learns the layout, she soon forgets. Coming to the realization that asking somepony is necessary now, she eyes what appears to be a clothing shop (not the shop she is looking for) and works up the courage to go inside.

Ding-a-ling goes the bell by the door as she opens it. Startled by the noise, Haze lowers her body into a power stance, legs braced equal widths apart and wings tensing underneath the cloak. The door, wanting to return to a shut position, lightly bangs against her side. Her eyes dart around for signs of the target.

Bells, silver bells especially, are used by Hunters to purify certain areas. It also chases certain types of monsters out of hiding.

Nothing happens at first. Then, the dainty clop of healthy, manicured hooves comes from the back of the store, accompanied by a pleasing southern-belle voice.

“Just wait a moment and I’ll be with you soon, darling!”

Confused, and still tense, Haze shifts awkwardly inside. She seeks out a clear corner and backs into it, looking around carefully.

“Sorry for the delay, I was just—well that’s not really important. What can I do for you today, dear?”

Haze slowly relaxes her stance, finally realizing that the bell must not be for monsters. Blinking dumbly at the beautiful pony that is in front of her, she starts feeling a little embarrassed.

 _She is really pretty,_ she thinks to herself, glad for the obscuring nature of her cloak. The way the light from the window made the unicorn’s sapphire eyes sparkle, and her perfectly coifed hair, makes Haze feel embarrassingly incompetent in her presence.

“H… hello.”

“Yes, and good day to you too,” the purple-maned pony smiles at her, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

 _Ask her about the shops,_ whispers a part of her mind.

“Shops…” She struggles to form the words, feeling her cheeks inflame as her embarrassment at her social awkwardness rises.

The shopkeeper’s smile remains patient and encouraging.

Haze takes a deep breath and tries again. “I’m visiting Ponyville and I’m a little lost. I was looking for some shops…”

“What did you mean to buy?” She asks helpfully.

“Spices, water purification crystals… and some other small things like a small mirror.”

The blue-eyed, purple-maned beauty perks up in acknowledgement and says, “Well, that can certainly be remedied. You can buy spices at…”

=*=

“… I can’t believe I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Rarity. I don’t believe I caught your name?”

Feeling orientated and very grateful, Haze raises her head and removes her hood. Her mussy, minty-green hair springs out, framing the sides of her white-coated face. Soft, almond-shaped eyes gaze downward through long lashes, giving her a deceptively gentle look.

“Oh my!”

Haze blinks. “I’m sorry?”

“My apologies, you’re much taller than I anticipated. I could tell you were hunching, but… And you’re so pretty! Look at the sheen of that coat! You ever think of modelling?”

“I… no. I have duties to perform,” Haze explains, before tilting her head at Rarity, “My name is Silver Haze. It’s nice to meet you, Rarity.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Rarity returns, bemused. After a moment, she seems to break out of it and asks, “Now, is there anything else I can do for you while you’re here?”

The tall pegasus blinks in thought before remembering her too-long cloak and the itchy bag strap over her back. It seems like something she herself could do, if a little shoddier in quality. However, she’s charmed by the kind and pretty clothier that helped her.

“I… well, this cloak is actually my mother’s. When she passed,” Haze pauses as Rarity’s expression becomes shocked and sympathetic, but continues, “it was left to me. But, she was much taller than me… See, it drags on the ground.”

The pegasus carefully turns around, showing the back end where most of the fabric ends up dragging on the ground.

“Oh, I see… I’m surprised you haven’t tripped,” Rarity narrows her eyes critically at the cloak.

“It has been close at times. My occupation requires great physical ability and the dragging cloth makes it hazardous to run.”

Rarity looks up at the pegasus with a serious look, “I could easily fix this, but keep in mind if you grow, you won’t get that length back.”

Silver Haze nods solemnly, “My mother always treasured my safety over everything else. This is sure to prevent any accidents. If you would, please?”

“If you’re sure…” Rarity says hesitantly.

“I am,” Haze nods.

=*=

With Rarity’s directions, she made it to the shops she suggested in no time at all. Finding herself with ample time left in the day, she decides to scope out the park and other places where ponies seem to gather. Her target might be there.

It’s late in the afternoon when she spies some very subtle hints of where it has been. Lowering her muzzle to the distinctly un-ponylike prints in the dirt, she takes a sniff at them. Slight odour, not fresh. It has been a while since it has been here. There must be more if these prints she can follow. Looking around a bit, she spots the hints of a trail that unfortunately winds through bushes and over grass. It’s harder to spot then, but she manages to get a general direction of the creature.

 _If I go in the direction of the prints, I’ll hopefully come across the creature, but,_ she thinks. Shifting her now uncomfortably heavier bags slung over her back and wings, she contemplates storing her bag someplace before she goes seriously hunting. The last thing she wants to happen is for her goods to be soiled. She doesn’t want to leave her goods where they’ll be stolen, either.

Haze eventually decides to stash her bags in a non-descript bush in a less populated part of town. She marks the bush with a rock.

Then, the hunt is on.

=*=

**_Hunt_ **

The whites of her minty-green eyes reflect the setting sun, seeming as if they have their own glow in the growing dark. Strong, long legs lift slowly and quietly as she stalks the field of apple trees. Of course, her coat shines like a beacon of purity, even among the bright colours of Ponyville. But that’s okay—she welcomes it to try and ruin her. She is a hidden dagger of the Equestrian kingdom, a Hunter.

The targets they hunt are attracted to light and purity. They grow as they corrupt and pervert these things. She can’t see it, but she has a few tricks to lure it out of hiding. From under her wings, she grabs the silver bell.

Ting!

Nothing, yet. She moves among the trees for a bit before purposefully ringing it again.

Ting!

A weird, rasping sound echoes around her, like someone has taken a blow. Haze stops and her eyes narrow as she searches the shadows. In one particular spot, the branches of the trees almost seem to warp unnaturally.

Ting!

A swath of pure darkness throws itself from the shadows with a shriek.

It’s bigger than she anticipated. _It must have been feeding in Ponyville_ , she thinks as she spreads her wings and propels herself backwards.

Sharp claws reveal themselves and the dark mass attempts to draw blood from the pegasus in repeated swipes. Haze rears up on her back legs, whinnying in warning. The creature ignores the display, charging towards her.

Haze brings her cloven hooves down, stomping down on it. The mass barely misses her hooves, clawing lightly at her ribcage in the process.

With nary a glance at the wound, she pivots on her front hooves and kicks back with full force, connecting with the creature and sending it flying toward a tree. The impact it has with the tree sends a couple apples falling. The apples land with padded thumps on the grassy ground.

Haze’s large wings spread threateningly as she tries to gauge its next move.

When it charges again, her wings beat strongly down, giving her enough air to clear its hurdle. Not wasting any time, she twists as she falls to orient herself toward the beast. She reaches her legs to the ground and pushes off from the ground, running after the Everfree shadow. It is slowing its momentum as she reaches cloven hooves to the creature and puts all her weight into smashing it into the ground. As her weight bears down on it, its skull cracks audibly and dark red splatters against her front legs and chest. Its raspy voice shrieks again and it struggles.

She takes its head in her front hooves and twists sharply. With another crack, the shadowy mass goes limp.

Haze removes herself from the creature and takes a look at the wound over her ribs.

A twig snaps. Haze spins towards the noise and stops short. It’s a pony.

_Oh, this isn’t good._

**Author's Note:**

> I won't be updating this regularly. Probably. I just needed the plot bunny to be shushed.


End file.
